Hot on the heels of cycling's most prestigious event, the Tour de France, Loughborough University graduate James Bowtell is undertaking a world record attempt to race across Europe by bike. Never completed before, James set off on 27th July from Ufa in Russia, one of the most easterly points in Europe, and is aiming to cycle across 7 countries (Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal) to reach the most westerly point at Cabo Da Roca in Portugal in 45 days.
The route is over 6,000 km long, a distance almost twice as long as the Tour de France, and comprises some of Europe’s toughest terrain.
James is cycling alone but is backed by a team of fellow university students and graduates under the name ‘Velo7’. Together they are hoping to inspire other people to embark upon life-enhancing projects and to raise a significant amount of money for the charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer.
The Velo7 team are using plotaroute.com to plot James' progress, posting route maps for each leg of the route on their blog. You can follow James’ progress on Facebook, Twitter or on their website www.velo7worldrecord.com.
Any donations in support of Cyclists Fighting Cancer would be welcome on the Velo7 JustGiving page.